Ornamenting enameled articles



Dec. 18, 1934.

A. l.. CRI-:Mo

ORNAMENTNG ENAMELED 'ARTICLES F'iled April 20, 1934 -Patented Dec. 18, 1934 UNITED STATES ORNAMENTING ENAMELED An'ricnnsv Aristide L. Cremo, North Attleboro, Mass., assign- -or to Evans :Case Company, `North Attleboro, Mass., a corporation of` Massachusetts Application April 20, 1934, Serial No. v'121,589v 9 Claims. (Cl. 41--26) Volves the use of a lacquer enamel or the like for such purpose. Throughout this specification lacquer enamel is employed as aA generic term with reference to all ymaterials and lacquerspas usually used for enameling purposes.A

Ithas been found that-when lacquer enamel is laid upon lacquer enamel it will adhere in a satisfactory manner but because of its thickness or consistency may make a raised line or portion where it is applied. This may give an apparent roughness or uneven surface to the article. In order to properly treat this after it has been put on for the desired ornamentation it has been found possible to cover the entire surface of the article including both the :baseenamel and decoration with a coating of clear lacquer enamel. Such a coating will show a surface eruption along the edge of the underlying decoration. A plurality of these cover coats of clear lacquer enamel may be put on the entire-device at least `until the clear coats on the lacquerenamel originally placed on the surface are as deepas is the decoration layer. The irregularly kshaped surface may then be polished or ground smooth to eliminate the humps over the decoration. By this opera.- tion the decoration is not destroyed Vand-a smooth surface is procured leaving clearly apparentthe ornamentation laid upon the'lacquer-enamel.

For the purpose of applyinga lineof lacquer enamel I prefer to employ an engine turning `mad chaine or lathe of thecharacter familiar to-pjewelers and workers in the enameling art. In this machine there may be a bed in which the venameled Aarticle may -be clamped and which maybe given any desired movement in anystraight vor .curved direction. The lacquer enamelypreferably will be applied by means of a device similar to a draftsmans ruling pen to which'. it may be automatically fed. The penr will preferably vbe held in the engine-turning machine and the ornamentation is accomplished by movement of the enameled piece in the bed, the bed being mov-v able vertically, horizontally or in a rotary direction and the pen being movable as itbecomes necessary to follow the arc 'or dome of the surfaoewhen a curved lpiece is vbeing ornamented. The penpreferably is locked in a .clamp which in turn is a par-t of what may be referred ,to .as a turntable unit permitting use of .the pen by mov- `ing ittow'ardlcr away from the piece'tobe decorated as required by the shape of the piece and Aat any necessary angle from acentral position as maybe necessary to reach the portion of the surface to be decorated.

This method of ornamentation may be particularly useful where adjacent surfaces of an article are to be treated with enamel of different charactersor colors. vAt the joint where the two venamels come ,in contact with each other there generally appears an indistinct, wavy or blurred line. This makes the appearance of the enameled device unsatisfactory. It has been proposed to overcome Vthis defect or junction by cutting a ystrip along `the junction wide enough to remove all the blurred part and so leave a clean smooth line at the margin .of each of the enameled portions. While this -is thoroughly satisfactory when properly lfinished. it is expensive andpractically undesirable for the vreason that in cutting lthe ljunction line enamel is frequently chipped or aked from the base. When this is done the article is a second or may be useless for commercial purposes.

In one aspect the invention overcomes this defect by not cutting the enamel but laying 'over the junction between two types of enamel a line of lacquer enamel sufiicientlywide to entirely cover the wavy or blurred junction. By the use of the ruling pen it has been found possible rto put kon lines with clear cut smooth margins thus giving a very satisfactOry and attractive appearance to the enameled article.4 The surface after being treated with the line kmay then be treated with .the desired number of coats of clear lacquer enamel and then polished .down to smooth out the entire surface. V

For convenience `the invention` will be described as applied to a portion of a cigarette case. It will be undertsood, howeventhat the ornamentation 'is not limited to such use but may be employed in connection with vany article which is enameled including notv only cigarette cases but lighters, compacts, .vanity cases, brushes, mirrors, trays and other. articles.

In .the accompanying drawing Figure 1 is a plan view of a member of` a` cigarette case to whichv enamel has been applied and which Ais in course .of having the indistinctA junction line between two `types of venamel eliminated by cut- .,ting'.. "Fig.. 2 is a plan view similar to Fig. 1 in f which theindstinct junction between two types .of venamel has been covered by lacquer enamel lines. Fig.v 3 is a fragmentary section on an exaggerated scale on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4

visa.plarr'view vof .another form of y cigarette case for which the invention may be adapted. Fig. 5 is a fragmentary section on an exaggerated scale on the line 5 5 of Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic showing of apparatus which may be employed for laying on the line of lacquer enamel and Fig. 7 is a diagrammatic showing of apparatus which may be used for bringing the piece to a nal smooth surface. f

In Fig. l the cigarette case 10 is shown as having applied to it lacquer enamel 11 of one color and lacquer enamel l2 of another color. The metal base on which the lacquer enamel is applied may be a smooth surface. Over a certain portion of this smoothbase corresponding to the parts marked Il s applied lacquer enamel oi a desired color. indicated by 12 is covered .with lacquer enamel of another or contrasting color. The dividing line between the enamel 11 and the enamel 12 will become irregular and blur or run as indicated by the diagrammatic irregular line 13 and this irregularity persists when lacquer enamel has dried and the device is ready for use. The device in this condition seems unfinished and is unsuitable for sale. By suitable tools the lines le have been cut as illustrated in Fig. 1 so as to eliminate what were irregular lines correspondng to the line indicated at 13. At 15 a similar cutting process has been attempted but the enamel has been nicked or chipped as illustrated in Fig. l thus destroying the beauty and commercial value of the device.

Fig. 2 shows a cigarette case l0 similar to that shown in Fig. l in which the lacquer enamel sections 1l and 12 have beenv applied as in Fig. l and in which irregular junctions as indicated at 13 in Fig. l have appeared on the four sides of the section 12. In Fig. 2, however, instead of cutting out the enamel the irregular junction lines have beenl covered by a line of lacquer enamel 16. In order to accomplish this the enameled member 10 has been placed vertically in a bed 17 of an engine lathe illustrated diagrammatically in Fig. 6. A ruling pen 18`provided with lacquer enamel 19 through a suitable conduit 20 from a reservoir21 is brought into contact with the memberlO at a suitable point tc begin the line 16. The pen 18 is preferably held in such a way that it can be moved toward or away from the piece 10 as required by the shape of the piece and so as to follow the arc or dome of the surface and at any necessary angle from a central position as may be necessary to reach the portion of the surface to be decorated. The bed 17 is moved by a suitable well known mechanism so as to cause the member l0 to pass in any desired direction vertically, horizontally or in a rotary direction against the tip of the pen 18 drawing lacquer enamel 19 therefrom to form the line 16. It will be understood that the line 16 may correspond to the color of the en,- amel 11 or of the enamel 12 or may be of any suitable or desired contrasting color. As illustrated in Fig. 3 after the line 16 has been applied the entire surface of the element 10 is spread with a plurality of layers of clear lacquer enamel. In Fig. 3 two of such layers 22 and 23 have been illustrated. It will be noted that the combined heights of the layers 22 and 23 from the enamel base 12 is greater than the height of the line 16. It will also be noted that while the coats 22 and 23 lie flat and smooth overthe enamel 11 and 12 they project or hump Aover the line 16. 'I he article in this condition is polished or lapped down with a wheelv in any suitable The intermediate space' manner. In Fig. 7 is diagrammatically shown a. shaft 24 which may be rotated by any suitable means and which carries a buffer wheel 25 to which may be applied grinding or polishing paste of any suitable character and against which may be held or pressed the element 10 carrying the lacquer enamel line 16 and the clear lacquer enamel layers 22 and v23. By this means the layers 22 and 23 may be smoothed and polished down to about the level indicated by the dotted line 26 in Fig. 3. There will thus be produced a smooth polished surface through which will appear the underlying enamel 11 and 12 and the line 16 covering their junction. It will be noted that the dotted line 26 in Fig. 3 is just above the top of the lacquer enamel forming the line 16 and this may be preferable although satisfactory results may be obtained when the polishing is carried further and the line 16 exposed or even polished away partially.

In Figs. 4 and 5 is illustrated another form to which the invention is adapted. The cigarette case 10a has formed across it toward its ends separating lines 27. Between the lines 27 lacquer enamel 28 of one character may be applied and then beyond the lines 27 toward the ends lacquer enamel 29 of the same or another character may be applied. When the enainels 28 and 29 are applied the separating members 27 keep them apart so that there is no indeniteness in their boundary lines. It may be desired, however, to apply an ornament upon a part or all of the enamel surface. Such an ornament of the Sunburst type is illustrated on the enamel 23.

This may consist of al plurality of straight lines 30 associated with a curved line 31. The lines 30 and 31 may be applied by placing the cigarette case 10a in the bed 17 and bringing the pen 18 in contact with it and then suitably moving Jthe bed 17 in the straight direction or curved to correspond to the lines 30 and 3l to cause the lacquer enamel to take its place on the enameled surface.

As illustrated in Fig. 5 the lacquer enamel line 30 will extend up from the enamel 28 but preferably does not reach as high as the top of the separating member 27. The entire device may have applied to it a suitable number of coats of clear lacquer enamel. In Fig. 5 two such coats 32 and 33 are illustrated. It will be noted that they raise the surface somewhat above the separating member 27, there being an unevenness or hump over the lines 30 and 31. The device may then be brought to a smooth surface by polishing or lapping by suitable apparatus such as illustrated in Fig. '7. i

It will be noted that no lacquer enamel has been laid above the separating strip 27 and this may be preferable but of course it may be laid thereon and polished or bufied off if desired. Preferably the polishing will bring the entire surface down approximately to the dotted line 34 which is shown as in approximate coincidence with the top of the separating member 27. When desired the layers 32 and 33 may be omittedabove the enamel 29 to which no decorating lines are shown as applied. Of course the enamel layer 29 itself when desired may be made so thick as to reach the top of the separating member 27 or it may be thinner as illustrated in Fig. 5.

Itwill be understood that the invention is not confined to the specic things illustrated in the drawing. The forms the decoration may take are limited only by the ingenuity or imagination of the operator. They may consist of bodies or of straight lines or' regular curved lines or irregular curved lines or a mixture of any two or more types. The ornamentation may be of a single color or of a plurality of colors and it may extend over the entire surface of the article or only a portion thereof. i

The specific mechanisms illustrated diagrammatically in Figs. 6 and 7 are not essential to carrying out the process but in their place any other suitable mechanisms may be employed.

The lacquer enamel may be applied, dried and treated at ordinary temperatures or a part or all of it may be heated at approximately 150 F.

which may aid in its setting and rigidly adhering to its seat.

To articles having an underlying coat or coats of cloisonn enamel there may be applied decorations or junction coverings or stripings of pigments ground in oil which when finished leaves only the pigment as the colored strip and the article may then be covered with a suitable number of layers of cloisonn enamel and after baking polished to a smooth nish to eliminate any irregularity of surface caused by the thickness or lift of the pigment.

Other changes within the invention will suggest themselves to those versed in the art.

I claim as my invention:

l. The art of ornamenting comprising laying on a base two sections of contiguous lacquer enamel, covering the junction of the sections with lacquer enamel, covering the whole with lacquer enamel in a plurality of layers, and polishing the whole to a substantially smooth surface.

2. The art of ornamenting comprising laying lacquer enamel on a base, applying a line of lacquer enamel to the rst lacquer enamel, covering the lacquer enamel and lines with a plurality of clear layers of lacquer enamel and polishing the whole to a substantially smooth surface.

3. 'Ihe art of ornamenting comprising laying lacquer enamel on a base, moving the surface about a ruling pen, feeding lacquer enamel to the ruling pen to make lines on the first lacquer enamel, covering the lined enamel with a plurality of clear coats, and polishing to a substantially smooth surface.

4. The art of ornamenting comprising laying lacquer enamel on a base, applying lacquer enamel thereto, heating to about 150 F., applying clear lacquer enamel thereto in a layer at least as thick as the second layer of lacquer enamel and polishing to a smoothsurface.

5. The art of ornamenting comprising laying enamel on a base, applying contrasting lacquer enamell thereto, applying clear lacquer enamel thereto in a layer at least as thick as the second lacquer enamel and polishing to a smooth surface.

6." 1he art of ornamenting comprising laying enamel on a base, applying lacquer enamel thereto, applying clear lacquer enamel thereto, and polishing to a smooth surface without affecting the second lacquer enamel.

7. The art of ornamenting comprising placing on a base two sections of contiguous enamel,

` covering the junction of the sections with a pigment, covering the whole with clear enamel in a plurality of layers, and polishing the whole to a substantially smooth surface. k

8. The art of ornamenting comprising placing enamel on a base, applying a line of pigment to the enamel, covering the enamel and pigment with a plurality of clear layers and polishing the Whole to a substantially smooth surface.

9. The art of ornamenting comprising laying on a base two sections of contiguous lacquer enamel, covering the junction of the sections with lacquer enamel, applying clear lacquer enamel thereto in a layer at least as thick as the lacquer enamel covering the junction, and polishing the Whole to a substantially smooth surface.

ARISTIDE L. CREMO. 

